Halftime Right Time For Fsu

The Seminoles' Defense Consistently Has Come On Strong This Year Following Halftime Adjustments.

October 28, 1999|By Steve Elling of The Sentinel Staff

TALLAHASSEE - Virginia Coach George Welsh has been toting around a whistle since 1960. In his opinion, the proposition that wily and secretive halftime adjustments can save the day is a bit overblown.

``There's no mystery to it, really,'' Welsh said. ``Most of the time in my coaching career, it hasn't made that much difference.''

This fall at No.1 Florida State, being ventilated in the first half does not a ballgame make. In fact, defensive changes made in the 20 frenetic minutes between halves have kept the Seminoles from blowing a shot at a national championship.

Halftime is choreographed chaos at best, and based on the second-half results, no team handles the fast-paced mission of intermission better than FSU.

Through eight games, the defense has been amazingly -- if not frustratingly - consistent in following a script laden with predictable twists. After some rough early moments, the Seminoles have held the opposition to a touchdown or less in the second half six times.

In the battle of wits at the half, FSU's defensive staff makes others look like ... half-wits. Three times this season, the Seminoles (8-0) have blanked the opposition in the second half, not to mention that Wake Forest scored on the game's final play to crack another goose egg.

``It's a hurried-up situation, but it's one of the most important parts of the whole deal,'' FSU defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews said. ``The first five minutes of the halves set the tone.''

For the opposition offense, the bell tolls for thee. In Saturday's 17-14 victory at Clemson, the Seminoles trailed by 11 points at the break. The defense stiffened in the second half, holding the Tigers to 70 yards, no points and six first downs as FSU scratched back to remain undefeated.

In all, FSU's eight foes have averaged 125.1 yards in the second half, 53 yards fewer than over the first 30 minutes. Only Georgia Tech (14 points) and Duke (23) have scored more than once after the break, and the Blue Devils were facing second- and third-team defenses.

Once the referee tugs at the trigger of the first-half gun, FSU kicks into gear for the lone teamwide meeting of the minds since kickoff. First, the defensive staff meets privately to discuss theories on what just took place. Andrews, who is seated in the press box during play, scans his hand-written list of errors and absorbs the input.

``Each coach has a part in it,'' Andrews said. ``Everybody has a say-so. It's not always a lot of Xs and Os that get changed. It might be something really subtle.''

Take Clemson, for instance. The Tigers were using a hurry-up offense, which kept Andrews from shuttling personnel as often as he had hoped. So, FSU essentially stayed with its primary 11 on defense in the second half and flourished. In a second-half shutout of pass-happy Louisiana Tech in the opener, Andrews scrapped his multiple-coverage scheme in the secondary, simplified matters, and the defense posted more zeros.

After the staff talks for five minutes, the coaches meet individually with their respective units. Hard as it might be for some to believe, the players talk almost as often as the coaches.

``In actuality, you want to listen to those kids, especially the experienced ones,'' Haggins said. ``They know what's going on. They see things out there that we can't see, things that we can't feel.''

Typically, changes in player assignments or techniques are made in the position meetings. After the coaches break down the breakdowns with their minions, the entire defense reassembles and listens to Andrews.

Having been quickly briefed by Andrews on the defensive focus for the second half, Coach Bobby Bowden then speaks to the entire team and reaffirms the tweaked game plan.

It seems to work. In fact, it's too bad that FSU can't do likewise before the first half.

``I just wish the other team would let us know beforehand what they were going to do,'' Andrews deadpanned in his Alabama drawl. ``That would make it a lot easier.''